Mother
by Alavon
Summary: Erio has a problem and he can't find a way out of it. Will talking to Fate clear everything or will it bring him down even more?


**A/N:** _Hiya! Now, about this one-shot...well...it sort of came to me while I was eating Skittles. The colors of the candy reminded me of an official Image that featured everyone (who was important) in MGLN enjoying a nice hot bath. Who knew eating candy can remind you of things__._..(- _ - ')._This story takes place two month's before __**Nanoha's Peach Pie...**_

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own one single character in this fic...except Alicia...who isn't even born yet..._

_**Mother...**_

By: Alavon

"Eriol?"

He looked up to see Caro with a worried look on her face. He hated to see her like that. He smiled to reassure her and then he wiped his face with the towel that Signum gave him moments ago. He doesn't want to see those beautiful, sad eyes...

"I'm fine, Caro. Really. I'm just a little tired from training."

When he was done, he stood up and stretched. "Nothing like a good workout," he said, smiling more broadly. But Caro was not stupid. She frowned and stomped her foot on the ground. Eriol blinked. He was in for it.

"Stop lying, Eriol!" she said, pointing a finger at his face. "Lately you have been training a lot more then before and I'm worried!"

She stopped, gasped and then turned away, blushing. Eriol didn't say anything. He wanted to comfort her but something was preventing him from doing so...

SMACK!

Eriol staggered, wide-eyed.

"Eriol, you IDIOT!" With that said, Caro left, forgetting Freidrich completely.

****

Fate sighed.

It has been an exhausting day. First, she had to put up with Nanoha's mood swings (Shamal has her in a new medication), her brother's yelling of her speeding tickets (she had to use the bathroom really badly...) and...

"Caro?"

Fate saw her running from the training room, tears streaming her face. Before she had a chance to stop her, Bardiche beeped, distracting her long enough for Caro to get away. Fate ran a hand threw her hair, swearing under her breath.

"Who could it be? Bardiche, let it through."

_**[Yes, Sir.]**_

An image of Teana appeared on the floating screen. She didn't look too happy.

"Yes, Enforcer-in-Training Lanster?"

"Um, Colonel Harleown would like to see you this instant. He says it's _urgent_." Teana said the last part with a face. Fate scowled.

"He wants me to babysit Karel and Laira, am I correct?"

Teana nodded.

"Well, tell my _dear brother_ this. Tell him that-"

**[The above reply had been censored due to Fates sudden colorful outburst]**

Teana's jaw dropped while Fate regained her breath. When she calmed down, she said," That will be all."

Teana saluted (Still in stupefied shock) and the screen disappeared. Fate closed her eyes and then whispered,"Now, where was I?"

****

How can he have been stupid! After the shock subsided (which took a good thirteen minutes), Eriol ran after her...well that was his plan until he slammed right into Fate! She was the last person he wanted to see!

"Eriol, what happened?" She had to go right to the point.

Eriol fidgeted, looking anywhere but Fate.

"I, um...just...a," He gulped. "We had our first fight..."

Fate gasped.

"A-a fight! How did this happened!?"

Eriol shrugged.

"Well, that was part of the problem..." he trailed off.

Fate sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"Eriol...why don't we have dinner?"

Eriol had no choice but to agree.

****

"So," began Fate, sipping her cup of coffee. "Tell me what happened."

Eriol looked at his plate of food. Normally, he would not hesitate to eat what was on his plate (and more), but strangely enough, he was not hungry. He pushed the plate away before responding.

"She was worried about me..."

Fate blinked. That was not what she expected.

"Worried? About what?"

Eriol took in a deep breath.

"I don't want to say..."

"Eriol," said Fate calmly but sternly. "If something is bothering you, tell me."

Eriol shook his head, smiling sadly. "That's how Caro responded."

Fate was taken aback by his response. Never have she seen Eriol like that before...

They were silent for a while and the only noise that could be heard was the rain hitting the window of the diner. After about four minutes of silence which felt like an eternity to Eriol, Fate spoke.

"Okay. Fine." She put her hands in the air in defeat. She stood up and took out some bills to pay for their food. She turned around to leave but not before speaking to him.

"Eriol," she began, still not looking at him. "Know this...no matter what the situation your in; whether it be in battle or more personal matters, I will always be there for you..."

Fate turned around and smiled.

"...because you are, and always has been, like a son to me."

When she was done, she turned around and left the diner without looking back.

Eriol couldn't hold it back and

...he cried....

_I now know what I have to do..._

****

"Eriol?"

Caro did not expect to see him at the front of her dormitory door...wet. Really wet...

"Caro...I'm sorry."

Caro blinked._ Eh? _That statement brought her back to Mid-Childa.

Before she had the chance to say anything, she was swept into Eriol's arms. He hugged her close and Caro noticed that he was trembling and something inside her told her that it wasn't because he was wet. She smiled and hugged him back, ignoring the wet clothes.

"I forgive you..."

Eriol began to cry uncontrollably, hugging Caro more tightly than before.

"Caro, the reason that-"

He was silenced by Caro's warm lips. After being taken by surprise, he responded to her kiss, enjoying the sweet fragrance that was emitting from her.

They stopped, breathing deeply. Caro placed her forehead on Eriol's chest, tears silently sliding down her young face.

_Eriol...I already knew about the problem...I was mad at you because you didn't let me help you...but now...let's do it together..._

**Three days later...**

"What you got there?" asked a six-month pregnant Nanoha Takamachi, munching on chips (Vivio's favorite chips to be more exact).

Fate smiled and returned the letter back in the red and black box. After replacing the lid to it, she faced Nanoha who looked like she was going to Starlight Break Fate to death.

"It's from Eriol and Caro..."

Nanoha raised an eyebrow.

"Not going to tell me?"

Fate chuckled and hugged Nanoha, her round belly making it difficult to do so. She kissed her on the lips and replied,"Let's just say you'll get your turn next year..."

Nanoha frowned but didn't say anything. She allowed Fate to drag her back to their room but not before seeing what was written on top of the card from the box's wrappings:

_Happy Mother's day, Fate-san..._

****

**A/N:** _Yup. You read right. I wrote a fanfic about Eriol, Caro, and Fate. And, yeah...I KNOW it's not Mother's day but I still wanted to write it. There are a lot of mistakes in this one-shot but overall, I'm satisfied enough to post it. Hope you enjoyed it. Review, please! :D_

_**SIDE NOTE:**__ Don't know Karel's twin sister's name...*__**sigh**__*_


End file.
